[Avodah] RAYK and the end of chol

[Shoshana L. Boublil]

> From: Micha Berger <micha at aishdas.org>
> Subject: [Avodah] RAYK and the end of chol

> On Thu, Mar 20, 2008 at 03:28pm IST, R Michael Makovi wrote (on the
> thread "R' Angel & Geirus Redux"):
> : Rav Kook too I think implicitly held like this. His philosophy was
> : that today, we are seeing people that are bad on the outside but good
> : on the inside. They have tremendous neshamot yearning to improve the
> : world (look at all the Jews in left-wing causes), and the Torah had
> : been made into something so small and parochial...

> But the whole zerichas hashemesh model of geulah didn't stand up that well
> to subsequent events. He wrote before WWII, after all.

I'm sorry, but there is a basic misunderstanding of the model.  The model is 
"Ayelet HaShachar" that is - at first it comes and goes.  In real life there 
are ups and downs. There are moments of great steps toward Ge'ulah, and 
there are moments of great falls away from Ge'ulah, into darkness.

The claim that it is a step ladder going one way is one I've seen, but not 
in Rav Kook.

> RAYK thought that the world was in an accelerated path to the geulah.

Not at all.  What he saw was that the a change has come over the world.  For 
the first time groups of Jews have successfully resettled Eretz Yisrael and 
have begun to make it flower. As brought in the G'mara R' Abba: Eil Lecha 
Keitz Meguleh MiZeh: VeAtem Harei Yisrael Anfeichem Titeinu UFiryechem Tis'u 
Le'Ami Yisrael" (Yechezel) and Rashi says: When the land of Israel will give 
forth fruit generously, then the Geulah is close and there is no end more 
revealed than that.

Can anyone honestly say, after seeing Israel export fruit and vegetables to 
the world, when comparing the situation here to what it was 120 years ago - 
when it was a land of swamps and desert, that something hasn't changed?

> :                                    ... Also, compare Torah im Derech
> : Eretz to Rav Kook's view of learning chol, "sanctify the chol by
> : infusing it with kodesh". Rav Kook and Rav Hirsch say the same thing
> : on learning chol, but in different language.
>
> First, TIDE is built around "Yaft E-lokim leYefet". The idea human
> being is ennobled, raised above the animal -- both in Torah and in being
> cultured. Far from RAYK's Zionism, I have no idea how TIDE is defined when
> not living amongst a host population of Benei Yefes defining high culture.

> Second, RSRH's TIDE is an entirely different paradigm. Rather than speak
> of a cosmic fading away of the whole concept of chol, RSRH speaks in
> terms of the ennoblement of high culture.

Rav Kook's view of learning chol has nothing to do with Zionism.  So, please 
don't mix the issues.

Rav Kook's view is based on the sentence (Zohar?) "Histakel BaTorah U'Vara 
Alma". So, there is no knowledge of this world that exists that is outside 
of Torah.  Therefore, there is no real "chol" as is common to think of 
history, math, archeology, languages etc. and in Rav Kook's view one has to 
study these topics and not just limit oneself to what he finds within the 
pages of the Talmud.

Shoshana L. Boublil